An Unusual Shooting

The Associated Press reports on an unusual shooting incident.

A North Carolina man faces a felony charge after police said he shot his wife with a wad of toilet paper stuffed into a gun. Multiple media outlets reported Wednesday that a 38-year-old man was charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Rockingham County sheriff's deputies said he shot his wife after she returned to their home after midnight on Tuesday.

Rockingham County Sheriff's Department spokesman Dean Venable told WGHP that the man loaded a black powder pistol with toilet paper, then fired the weapon at his 55-year-old wife, who was in bed.

Now, these guys who own black-powder guns are what, collectors usually, hunters? They're gun buffs who normally wouldn't act in an irresponsible manner, right?

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Aaron Vargas

Yahoo News reports on the sentencing of man who killed his abuser.

A man who said he had been sexually abused by a family friend since he was a child was sentenced to nine years in prison Tuesday for shooting the victim with a Civil War-style pistol and watching him die.

Aaron Vargas, 32, showed little emotion as his punishment was announced in the vigilante killing.

His sister Mindy Galliani noticed his lips were trembling — a sure sign he was about to cry.

"It's not over. We're going to appeal," Galliani said after her brother shuffled away, hands and feet shackled. "It's clear that the justice system still doesn't have an understanding of childhood abuse."

Initially charged with murder, Vargas, of Fort Bragg, Calif., pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the death of 63-year-old Darrell McNeill and could have faced up to 10 years in prison.

It turns out the abuser was supposed to have had many victims, to have been quite the predator. Aaron, they say, just snapped after a lifetime of suffering.

The judge wanted to send a strong message that it is not permitted to take the law into one's own hands.

Interestingly, the crime was committed with a "Civil War-style pistol." Do you think that makes this one of the extremely rare black-powder killings? We certainly don't see many of those. I'd say they're even rarer than true DGUs.

What's your opinion. Please leave a comment.

Montana Teacher Fires Gun in Classroom

The Associated Press reports on an accidental shooting which happened in a classroom during history lesson.

BILLINGS, Mont. — The superintendent of a rural Montana school district says he was showing students his black powder muzzleloader when he accidentally fired the weapon into a classroom wall during a history lesson.

Dwain Haggard, who used to be a Civil War re-enactor, was showing the gun to five students in Reed Point High School's American history class Friday when it fired.

No one was injured, and Haggard says he can't explain how the weapon was loaded.

He says he usually fires a cap during the demonstration, but this time there was a loud bang and the room filled with smoke.

The ball shot through the "o" in the word "North" on a wall map.

Haggard says none of the students' parents was upset with him. He described the incident as "bitter irony" because he has tried to increase safety in the school district west of Billings.

Well, at least this is an improvement over some recent reporting we've seen: "...when he accidentally fired the weapon..." I'm glad they didn't report that "the gun went off." Of course, his not being able to explain how the gun got loaded, is a bit strange. But the best part of the whole story is this:

Haggard says none of the students' parents was upset with him. He described the incident as "bitter irony" because he has tried to increase safety in the school district west of Billings.

Yeah, that's some pretty funny irony right there. I guess those Montana parents know that Constitutionally-protected, God-given rights require that a certain price be paid in safety and caution.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Rare Black Powder Gun Death

The Charlotte Observer reports on the accidental gun death which involved a muzzle-loaded rifle.

Galen Elijah Ruble told police he thought his muzzle-loading rifle was unloaded when he pointed it at his friend's head and pulled the trigger, according to Boone police.

But Jay Derby, a 20-year-old student, was killed Sunday during a party at Ruble's apartment near Appalachian State University.

On Monday, Boone police charged Ruble with involuntary felony manslaughter.

"This is negligent. You don't point a gun - it's not a toy," said Boone Police Captain Jim Wilson. He said Ruble, also 20, is distraught about the shooting, which has rocked both families.

Police say Derby went to a small party at Ruble's apartment this weekend. About 12:30 a.m. Sunday, police say Ruble went to his bedroom and came back with his .50 caliber muzzle-loading rifle, intending to scare his friends.

He told police he expected only a small pop from the gun's percussion cap.

On a muzzle-loading rifle, the percussion cap explodes when the trigger is pulled - setting off the main gunpowder charge and propelling a slug down the barrel. The gun is loaded by pouring powder and a slug into the muzzle.

Derby was declared dead at the apartment when paramedics arrived.

That's a sad story, one friend killing another. How is it possible for someone who owns a muzzle-loaded rifle to be so ignorant of the basic rules of gun handling? Pointing a gun at someone and pulling the trigger for a joke, should be such a taboo action that no gun owners would ever do it. Instead, it happens.

With gun registration and proper gun control regulations people who want to own guns could be required to do a bit more than some cursory training course. In some places nothing at all is required. The result is the fact that we have foolish and preventable tragedies like this.

Please feel free to comment.